In every room in the RedZone Technologies office there are whiteboards. We find them to be an invaluable tool for collaboration and project management. But what happens when in-person group work no longer exists and employees are working remote?

Everything surrounding tech is moving at the speed of light right now. We need to make a concerted effort as IT Leaders to know the status of these tech innovations so we can use them to our advantage.

Vanessa Bates Ramirez writing for Singularity Hub breaks down the expert’s take on tech and the trends shaping the future.

Here is where some of the new technology stands:

⛓️ Blockchain- While still in its infancy, blockchain has seen use in sectors such as supply chain, identity, and the financial sector. Wal-Mart mandated that all suppliers in its leafy greens segment be on a blockchain.

💻 Quantum Computing- This holds great promise. Experts think this technology will pick up steam in the next 3-7 years and will require great collaboration between business/academia/governments to succeed.

🤖 Artificial Intelligence- While AI and automation are changing the work landscape, if built right, these tools will bring more good than harm, and more productivity than obsolescence.

Every restaurant I’ve been to recently doesn’t have traditional paper menus- but rather QR codes to scan with smartphones.

The use of QR codes has exploded this year as restaurants seek out contactless options for customer safety. Now, bad actors are taking this opportunity and the vulnerabilities of this mobile technology to launch potential attacks.

Bob Violino, in his piece for CSO Online, outlines how attackers take advantage of the increased use of QR codes to steal sensitive information and how to mitigate the risk.

Here were my key takeaways:
📊 Last month, MobileIron released a report saying that QR codes pose “significant” security risks for enterprises and end users.

⚠️ Alex Mosher, Global VP at MobileIron, says “By their very nature, QR codes are not human readable. Therefore, the ability to alter a QR code to point to an alternative resource without being detected is simple and highly effective…”

🎣 A common way bad actors exploit consumers with QR codes is a form of phishing where they cover up legitimate codes or swap them out with illegitimate ones.

Pay attention to the URL you are being directed to. All it takes is one wrong scan.

Do more with less. This is the new expectation of security teams. Do more with less but also faster and less expensive.

In his piece for Forbes, Louis Columbus, Principal at Dassault Systèmes, explains how CIO’s, in their efforts to make budgets leaner, need CISOs to up their game and avoid making mistakes that could derail the organization.

Here are a few mistakes no CISO wants to make:

❌ Discounting or underestimating the importance of privileged non-human identities that far outweigh human users as a cybersecurity risk.

❌ Not updating the budget to include the latest security systems such as cloud, and DevOps.

❌ Exposing their organizations to a greater risk of breach and privileged access credential abuse by staying with legacy password vaults too long.

Columbus adds, “Taking a more modern approach that is aligned to digital transformation priorities can often allow organizations to leverage their existing solutions to reduce risk and costs at the same time.”

Trust, especially in this year of remote work, is an essential component of the work of IT Security Professionals. CISOs have already embraced the concept of trust as a deliverable and are making it the central theme of their entire security function.

Mary K. Pratt, in her piece for CSO Online, interviewed numerous IT Leaders and got their take on how cultivating trust will lead to greater organizational success.

Here were a few of my favorite quotes:

🤝 Michael Weisberg, CISO of Garnet River LLC, says, “If you don’t have the trust, then your motives become questioned…”

🤝 Monica Cole-Rowe CISSP, CISO of Mazuma Credit Union, says, “Trust gives you the ability to influence those decisions that affect the entire business.”

🤝 Steve Berez, partner at Bain & Co., says, “So broadly the CISO’s job has a great deal to do about trust and creating trust that the data provided to the company is secure. That’s probably the most important role of the CISO today.”